Boston City Council approves $686,800 cemetery repair fund, passes two police grants

BOSTON — September 21, 2022 — Boston City Council orders hearings on closed pools, migrant services, and an unimplemented sharps ordinance at its September 21 meeting. The council also passed a $686,800 Cemetery Trust Fund appropriation — the first draw since 2019 — for repairs at Fairview and Mount Hope cemeteries, including $258,000 for interior rehabilitation at Mount Hope and $400,000 for its entrance facade, on a motion by Councillor Lara, chair of the Committee on Environmental Justice, Resiliency and Parks. Councillor Erin J. Murphy filed two separate hearing orders after only seven of Boston's 19 BCYF pools opened this summer and four additional pools remain closed today due to a lifeguard shortage, noting the closures hit low-income neighborhoods hardest. Councillor Ruthzee Louijeune filed a hearing order on the city's 2020 Safe Sharps Disposal ordinance, which she said is not being enforced despite giving ISD that authority, and a second order on migrant services — citing $1.1 million in ARPA funding for temporary migrant housing that her office secured but has yet to be deployed. The council passed two federal police grants on suspension: a $62,569 Byrne Justice Assistance Grant for sex offender address verification and a $40,875 Port Security Grant for harbour patrol vessels.